Connecticut General Assembly
OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE RESEARCH
D’Ann Mazzocca, Ph.D. (860) 240-8400 Room 5300 FAX (860) 240-8881 Legislative Office Building [email protected] Hartford, CT 06106-1591
4／4／2018 98-R-1041
FROM: Judith S. Lohman, Principal Analyst
RE: Educational Technology Grants You asked whether the General Assembly enacted legislation in 1997 or 1998 that included initiatives to improve classroom technology, whether it was part of the response to the Sheff v. O’Neill court ruling, how much money was appropriated, what the funding eligibility requirements are, how use of money is verified, and which school districts have received assistance.
SUMMARY
In 1997, the General Assembly allocated $20 million in bond funds to an educational technology grant program first created in 1986 to help schools to upgrade their building infrastructure (wiring, cable, and other information systems) to support educational technology. Although the 1997 funding was not expressly in response to the Sheff v. O’Neill desegregation case, a portion of the money is reserved for the largest cities.
Except for these cities, grants are awarded to school districts on a competitive basis for projects excluded from regular school construction grants. Ten million dollars was awarded in 1996-97 and another $10 million is available for 1998-99. Grant recipients are subject to regular State Department of Education (SDE) grant audit procedures and grantees that misuse funds are liable for repayment to the state. Since 1995, 119 school districts have received grants.
In addition to state educational technology grants, school districts are eligible for funding for educational technology infrastructure and discounted telecommunications services from the federal Universal Service Program (USP). The USP, established by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), is funded by assessments on telecommunications companies providing interstate long distance service. A fuller explanation of the USP may be found in the enclosed OLR report (97-R-0778) and in enclosed material from the Schools and Libraries Corporation, a nonprofit entity the FCC established to administer the USP for schools and libraries. Additional information is also available on-line from the FCC at http://www.fcc.gov/ccb/universal_service/welcome.html. EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY GRANTS
The state has a grant program to help school districts improve classroom technology. The education technology grant program, which is administered by the State Department of Education, was established in 1986. The money is to help schools upgrade or install wiring, cable, or other distribution systems, and to make infrastructure improvements to support telecommunications and other information transmission equipment used for educational purposes. The entities eligible for funding are local and regional school districts, regional educational service centers, cooperative arrangements between two or more schools districts, and endowed academies eligible for state school construction grants.
FUNDING
The General Assembly approved $20 million in bonding for the grants in the 1997 session. Half of the money was used in 1997-98. Of the $10 million available for 1998-99, $4 million is reserved for Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven, and Waterbury ($1 million each). The remaining $6 million will be awarded on a competitive basis. The SDE issued its request for applications to school districts on July 8, 1998.
GRANT AWARD CRITERIA
The law requires districts to submit funding applications annually to the education commissioner. The commissioner has authority to determine who gets grants and in what amounts. Award decisions must be based on at least the following factors: (1) the nature and design of the project; (2) the need for the project; (3) the planning for the use of the technology equipment and hardware, including the extent to which school buildings can be linked to other schools, libraries, higher education institutions, and information networks; (4) staff training; (5) extent of consultations with people or businesses with expertise in technology and information systems; (6) the applicant’s relative wealth; (7) the number of school districts included in the application; (8) the size of the school building; and (9) the grades enrolled in it (CGS § 10-4h).
In addition to the statutory criteria, the SDE requires all applicants to have adopted a comprehensive technology plan reflecting the Connecticut Statewide Educational Technology Plan and the Guidelines for Technology Infrastructure in Connecticut’s Schools, as approved by the State Board of Education. The local technology plan must have been approved by the applicant’s local or regional board of education.
Finally, the department limits eligibility to projects not funded under the state school construction grant priority list.
- 2 - VERIFICATION OF GRANT USE
Education technology grants are subject to SDE audit in the same manner as other state education grants. The law requires each grantee to submit whatever reports and financial statements the commissioner requires. And it allows the commissioner to require repayment of the grant to the state if he finds that it is not being used for its intended purpose.
SCHOOL DISTRICTS THAT RECEIVED FUNDING
Since 1995, the state has awarded a total of $20.4 million to 139 educational technology projects in the districts listed on the attached.
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